Pokemon - Skill Extravaganza
by iretr
Summary: Takashi Sugimori, one of the Hoenn region's greatest Pokemon Skill Coordinators, is on a journey to become the worlds number one Skill Head. Pokemon Skill Competitions are new types of Tournaments that are meant to showcase a Trainer's ability. To live up to his dream, Sugimori must conquer the Hoenn region's Skill Championship, and then the rest of the World.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer**

I do not own the Pokemon games, manga(s), anime or card game.

If I, (for any reason) say that I do, please disregard that fact.

However, I _do _own the Pokemon Skill Competition idea, but others are free to use that if they like.

**Pokemon - Hoenn, Skill Extravaganza**

My name is Takashi Sugimori. My partner, Kabutops and I have always strived to be the greatest Pokemon Skill Head in the world. Pokemon Skill Competitions are great tournaments held to showcase a trainer's technique and ability. They're sort of like a mix between Hoenn's contests, and Johto's PokeAthlon. Kabutops, we've known each other since I was 3 years old. When I was two, I lived in the Kanto region with my family. One day I was in Mt. Moon, even though I wasn't supposed to be. I found a rock deep within the caverns. One year later, while visiting Cinnabar island, I learned it was known as a Dome Fossil. A man told me it was an ancient artefact, and he had recently developed a machine that could revive the fossil. Low and behold, Kabuto was born. We soon became best friends, and when I was six, we moved to Slateport City in the Hoenn region. This is where I discovered the wonder that is Skill competitions.

"Kabutops!" I said. "Hit it with your Slash!" The brown-plated scythed beast clawed its sharp arm at a 4-meter-tall stone slab, slicing it in half. The Pokemon rejoiced and danced around. "Good job, boy!" I pointed my Pokeball toward Kabutops and a beam of red light enveloped him. Soon, he was gone. I walked down the path, towards Mauville City. That was where the registration for this years Pokemon Skill Competition was. When I reached the City, I went strait for the Pokemon Centre, and healed my pokemon. It was getting late, so I decided to stay the night there.

I was sitting on the couch in the corner of the building next to Kabutops, when a girl with short bright-green hair walked up to me. "Are you a Skill Coordinator?" She asked.

"As a matter of fact, I am."

"My name is Sakura Akihiko." She said. "I'm trying to become a Skill Trainer, but I always come last place in all of my Competitions."

"What Pokemon are you using?"

"I've tried with my Dratini, and my Roserade."

"Good choices. Actually, they are _very _good Skill Competition Pokemon. I've been beaten by them myself."

"Have you got any tips?"

"What rank contests do you participate in?"

"Rank 4"

"Rank 4!? That's the Master League Rank!"

"I thought Rank 1 would be the Master League rank..."

"No, no. Rank 1 is the _easiest _rank. That's why it's also known as the beginner rank. Anyway, in phase 1, I'd suggest using Roserade to weaken the dummy with its poison sting, then finish it off using Dratini's Dragon rage"

"What about phase 2?"

"Not sure. Neither of the two have really _any _physical strength to destroy stone slabs. I'm just trying to remember how those that beat me accomplished it..."

"How about I catch a new Pokemon?"

"That's a plan."

"I didn't catch your name."

"The names Takashi. But you can call me Sugimori. Sakura, right?"

"Yep!"

In the morning, Sakura and I headed to route 111 to catch her a Machop. "I heard there are families of Machop on the mountain." I said. "They have incredible physical strength."

"And when they evolve into Machamp, they will achieve two times faster than they already do at their simplest form."

"Exactly." We started climbing the mountain, using Kabutops to help us. After five minutes of searching, we found two Machops wandering around a cave. I signalled to Sakura to sneak around the sub-mountain, containing the cave. When she was behind the Machops, I jumped in front of them. The two readied into a battle stance and charged at Kabutops. "Brick Break!" Kabutops jumped into the air and spun down on them, knocking them to the side. "Sakura, now!" She grabbed a Pokeball from her bag, and threw it into the air. "Come on out, Roserade!"

The Flowered elder appeared in between the now standing Machops, it's thorns sharp and tipped with poison. "Poison sting!" She ordered. Purple needles shot out of Roseades thorns, crashing into the two Machop, injecting them with poison.

"Slash!" I ordered. Kabutops rammed his Scythe-Arm into a Machop, then threw it into the other.

Sakura took another Pokeball from her bag. "Pokeball! Go!" She threw the ball at a Machop, it's body enveloped in red light.

The ball shook. Again. And again. And again. The circle in the ball's centre shone a bright red, and stopped shaking. I looked over at Sakura, who was bursting with excitement. She jumped 3 meters into the air. "I caught a POKEMON!" She ran over and picked up her newly caught Pokemon and put it in her bag. "Kabutops!" I said. "Finish him off with a Night Slash!" His Scythe-Arm became eveloped in darkness, as he swung it at the Machop, knocking it down the mountain. "Sugimori?" Said Sakura. I looked over at her.

"Hmm?"

"Didn't you have the championships to apply for?" My eyes widened and I jumped onto the back of Kabutops. "Kabutops, Go!" Kabutops jumped off of the mountain, and ran back to Mauville.

I arrived at the registration building, my heart pounding wildly. I ran inside, hoping I still had enough time. "I- I'm here to register!" I said. A seventy year old man was running the reception. "Am I too late!?"

"There's three spots left." he said with a smile.

"Oh thank god." I breathed a sigh of relief, and took a small break to regain my energy.

"Takashi Sugimori." I said.

"Excuse me?"

"My name. It's Takashi Sugimori."

"I'll just find your name in the system." The old man searched on his computer for a while and frowned. "Have you competed in skill competitions before?"

"Of course."

"We'll, I'm sorry. Your name is not in the system."

"Wha-!"

"I'm sorry. You _cannot _compete." I fell to my knees, trembling. My eyes started watering as my head jerked down in disappointment. "I'm just kiddin'!" My head shot up.

"What?"

"Your name's right here. Takashi Sugimori. _Unless _you're telling me that's not your name." He laughed and typed a little more on his computer. "There we go. You are now fully registered for this years Hoenn Skill Competition Championships!" I jumped up in excitement, laughing with anticipation. "Ok, this is how this years Championship is going to work. There are six Skill Sites scattered around the region. You must place first or second in each to qualify for the final. I'd suggest starting with the Lavarige Site. Also, you'll be competing in the single event. Meaning you can only choose _one _Pokemon for the entire event."

The next day, I was out on Route 112 practicing my Skills with Kabutops. "Brick break!" Kabutops raised it's scythe and it crashed down and sliced through the tall pile of bricks standing in front of him. "Smack down!" Kabutops jumped up and crashed down onto the remaining bricks, applying his full weight upon them. By the time he got up, there was nothing there. "Good job!"

"Sugimori, wait up!" Sakura came running down the path towards me. When she caught up, she bent over and tried to catch her breath. "Can I come with you?"

"Yeah. Just one question."

"Of course."

"Why?"

"Because you helped me catch a new Pokemon, and _win _a Skill Competition! Oh, that reminds me! Because the Pokemon around here are mid-levelled, like 20-30, Machop evolved!" She held out her Pokeball, and a tall grey man-looking Pokemon.

"Wait... You won a competition?!"

"Yep! A rank _2 _competition too!"

"Nice! Allright, then. You can come along."

"Where are we headed?"

"Lavarige Town. My first competition is held there."

"Watch out!" A skinny man with black hair came running down the mountain. He was chasing a green dog-like Pokemon. "Please catch Electrike!"

"Kabutops!" I threw my Pokeball into the air and Kabutops appeared. "Catch the Electrike!" Kabutops jumped into the air and landed in front of Electrike. "Smack down!" Kabutops released all of its weight on top of Electrike and picked him up. The skinny man bent over to catch his breath.

"Thank... You! My name is Genya Ito! That's my Electrike. Sorry about that."

"It's fine. I'm Takashi." I shook his hand. "Are you a trainer?"

"Yep! Got 3 badges! On my way to Flannery's gym!"

"I'm Sakura!" Said Sakura, holding out her hand to shake his. He looked over at her and Blushed. He grabbed her hand.

"Well hello there, fine lady!" Sakura tilted her head, blushed and let of a laugh. "So, Takashi. Care for a Pokemon Battle?"

"I _am _a Skill Coordinator, but I'm up for a battle any day!"

"This'll be a one on one battle, K?" Asked Genya.

"Fine by me!"

"Send out your Pokemon!" Said Sakura. Genya and I raised Pokeballs to the sky and threw them upwards.

"Kabutops!"

"Electrike!"

The two Pokemon glared at each other, standing still. "Start!" Said Sakura.

"Build up your Speed Kabutops! Agility!" Kabutops started running laps around Electrike, his figure blurring.

"Shockwave!" Electrike shot a beam of Electricity at the ground in front of it, a place where Kabutops was running. When Kabutops touched the Shockwave, it stumbled and fell onto its face. "Crunch!" Ordered Genya. Electrike charged at the injured Kabutops and bit into its scythe arm.

"Stealth Rock, Kabutops!" Kabutops tucked its limbs to its torso and a rain of boulders fell onto Electrike. It got up quickly and ran at Electrike to finish it off. "Brick Break!" Kabutops rammed it's scythe arm into Electrike without hesitation. It lunged back and disappeared inside of its Pokeball.

Kabutops danced around and ran over to me. "Great job, boy!" I looked over at Genya. "Good game!" He gave me a thumbs up.

Genya grabbed my hand and shook. "I'm off to Mauville before I beat Flannery, and you're going to Lavarige, so I guess we're going our separate ways!"

"I guess so! I look forward to seeing you again." He walked down Route 112, and onto Route 111. I stood, waving, until he was out of site.

"So, where we're we?" Said Sakura.

"I believe we were about to enter the Cable Car building to get to Lavarige Town."

We stepped onto a Cable car. There was another Trainer in there with us. We had a great view of Mt. Pyre from inside. The ride up the volcano took about 15 minutes.

We stepped out of the Cable car, now on top of Mt. Pyre. Sakura and I made our way south, into the Pyre Forest. "Look! A Spoink!" Said Sakura, pointing at the springed piglet. She tried to run over and battle it, but it bounced away in shock. For the rest of our time in the Forest, Sakura was disappointed that she missed her chance to catch the Spoink.

"Cheer up. Just think, there are also Rank 1 & 2 Competitions at the Lavarige site too!" I said, patting her on the head.

"But I want to watch you!" We emerged out of the Pyre Forest, back onto Route 111, but now at the top of the many steep ledges blocking the way. We made our way into Lavarige town, into the Pokemon Center. "Tomorrow is my event, so I better get some rest!" I proceeded into the hotel area of the Pokemon Center and slept until the next day.

"Rise and shine, sleepy head!" Sakura was standing over me, giggling. "Your Competition is today! Don't you want to get ready?"

"What time is it?"

"Six AM!"

"Crap! My competition is in half an hour!" I jumped out of bed and threw on my day clothes. I ran out the door, stuffed my breakfast down my throat and went running out of the Center.

"Wait! Wait for me!" Sakura came running after me, knowing that if she didn't follow, she wouldn't be able to find the site.

**To be Continued...**


	2. Chapter 2

"Welcome back, Pokemon fans!" The announcer was standing in the middle of the indoor stadium, spotlights hitting him brightly. "This is this years _first _Lavarige town Skill Competition event! Today, we have three Skilled coordinators!" A cheer from the crowd filled the room. Three dark figures emerged from the sidelines. "The first is a young lady from the Kalos region... She is..." The room went silent. "Yumika Suzuki!" Another loud cheer. "Our second competitor... A man from the Kanto region, but now lives here in Hoenn..." Silence. "Takashi Sugimori!" A spotlight shone onto me. My eyes are watering because of how bright it is. "And last, but _certainly _not least... The young man from the Sinnoh region..." The last silent moment of the night.

"Ushio Tanaka!"

"Audience, Coordinators," said the announcer. "Let's begin the event with the classic Phase 1! A tower of bricks!" A curtain shifted, and revealed three towering stacks of clay bricks. "Coordinators. Please show your Pokemon. Note this, the Pokemon you choose now _must _accompany you throughout the rest of the Championship." I raise my Pokeball. The two on either side of me did too. We simultaneously threw them upwards, revealing our Pokemon. Suzuki was using Azumarill. I used Kabutops. Tanaka used Staraptor. "Begin!"

"Brick break, Kabutops!" I called.

"Staraptor, slice 'em with your Arial Ace!" Ordered Tanaka.

"Use Hydro Pump to weaken them, then shatter the rest with Double Edge!" Suzuki called. Kabutops jumped up, and crashed down on top of its pile of bricks, shattering each one easily. Tanaka's Staraptor flew sharply upwards. It then completed a well executed Arial Ace attack, destroying the bricks. No remnants were visible. The crowd went wild. A powerful shot of water came spurring out of Azumarills mouth, toppling the bricks over, and chipping them. It then threw a punch and charged at the bricks. A cloud of smoke appeared, and when it faded, no bricks could be found. "According to the crowd, I think Ushio has won this Phase! But don't worry Takashi and Yumika, there's still three more left!"

"Get ready for Phase two!" The crowd roared with excitement. Three giant stone slabs rose from the ground in front of the Pokemon. "The master of Strength tests... The slab challenge!"

"Go!"

"Smack down!" I ordered to Kabutops.

"Double Edge!" Called Suzuki. A confused set of cries came from the audience. They were wondering why she used the same attack twice in a row.

"Fury Cutter!" The three Pokemon charged at there targets at the exact same time, as if they had planned it. Kabutops tucked its scythe arms to its torso, until it had reached the slab. It jerked them into the slab, knocking it over. It them released its full weight onto it. The crowd was as if a man had just died in front of their eyes, but in a good way. Azumarill's Double Edge was the same as last time. Leaving the crowd silent with disappointment. Star avian cut the slab into four pieces using its wing. It then crashed down onto them, leaving them virtually invisible. The crowd roared.

"I believe Mr Sugimori has won this round!" Said the Announcer.

"And finally, the _true _test of Skill." The Announcer pointed to the ground, and it parted, leaving just a Stadium field. "A Pokemon battle!" I was surprised. No competition I had ever entered had featured one. It was a good thing I had trained Kabutops for more than just Slabs and Bricks. "This will be a three-way battle! Each Trainer using there one selected Pokemon!" The three of us walked to separate squares on the stadium with our respective Pokemon. "The rules are simple, status conditions are allowed, items are not, excluding held items!" We braced ourselves.

"Begin!"

"Staraptor, Double team!" The black bird created six copies of itself, all lapping around Kabutops.

"Rapid spin!" I called. Kabutops held out his scythe arms and started spinning, knocking the real Staraptor into the wall. Suzuki was stalling. She was going to wait for Tanaka and I to tire each other out, and then strike. The two of us looked over at Suzuki, looked back at each other and nodded.

"Kabutops, Hyper Beam on Azumarill!" I called out. Kabutops jerked its head back, white particles gathering around his mouth, forming a ball of light. A few seconds later, a beam emerged from the ball and struck Azumarill. It shot back, cracking the wall.

"Staraptor! Sky drop!" Staraptor shot over to the injured Azumarill and picked it up by the ears. It carried it to the ceiling and then dropped it to the ground.

"Finish him off with your Giga-Drain Kabutops!" I said. Two indents opened in Kabutops' back. It bent over, and green spores started emerging from Azumarill, and making there way into the indents. Azumarill fell over, slowly, and hit its face hard on the ground. "Azumarill is down!" Said the Announcer. "Bad luck, Suzuki. You're out!"

I looked over at Tanaka. She was planning his attack on Kabutops. "Go, Kabutops! Rock Slide!" I said. Kabutops stomped the ground hard, and a dozen large boulders arose, and shot at Staraptor, imparting its flight.

"Roost, Staraptor!" Said Tanaka. Staraptor got to the ground, and made an unusual stance. The wound on its wing started to heal, and it got to the sky once again. "Now, Brave Bird!" It got as high as the ceiling, it then started glowing many different colours at once, and charged at Kabutops.

"Go! Aurora Beam!" Kabutops shot a powerful long icicle from its mouth, missing Staraptor. "Try again!" It did the same, and this time it hit. But this did not stop its attack. It hit head first into Kabutops' chest, injuring him badly, but keeping Startaptor safe. Kabutops started making injured grunts, struggling to stand up. He then eventually fell to the ground.

"The winner is Ushio Tanaka!" Said the announcer.

I stood there staring at Staraptor, dancing around, celebrating it's victory. I fell to my knees. The crowd was screaming for there favourite Coordinator, Tanaka. I raised my Pokeball and Kabutops returned inside. I walked out of the stadium, the cold buzz of defeat drowning the audience out. Sakura came running after me. "Hey!" She said. I didn't look over. "Sugimori!" I walked into the Pokemon Center in silence. I had the Doctor heal Kabutops, and I then went back to my room.

Sakura entered shortly afterward.

She sat on the bed next to me. "Hey, it's ok." She said. "It's only one loss. You'll do better next time." She shuffled in closer.

"But what if there _is _no next time?" I said, staring at my Pokeball in front of me. "What if this is the last competition I ever do?"

"Why would that happen?"

"I'm a failure, Sakura. They didn't cheer for me _once_"

"What about your Smack down on the Stone slab?"

"I'm _pretty _sure they were anticipating Tanaka's next move."

"What? Don't think like that! They were cheering for _you_. Not some washed up Sinnoh has-been!" I sat up.

"Can you just leave me here for a while?" Sakura got up and walked into the main Center.

I lay there for hours. At around 3:30 PM, a crash in the Center got me up. I ran out to the main room, where a group of men in red hoods, with black horns stood. "Team Magma!" I said.

"Get out of our way, kid!" Said one of them. "I'm sure you don't want any trouble." I threw my Pokeball to the ground and Kabutops appeared in a flash of light. Each of the magma grunts threw their Pokeballs too. Three Mightyenas, two Houndooms and two Donphans. "Kabutops!" I said. "Get them!" Kabutops charged, it's scythe arms held out to the sides. It slashed two Donphan, blood spurting on the ground and walls. I spotted Sakura in the corner. She didn't have her Pokeballs. She was being held down by a Magma Admin. The two Donphans fell to the ground, severely injured. "Houndoom, Fire Fang!" Said a grunt. The Demon Hound came running at me, not Kabutops. I kicked at it, missing. It bounds onto me, knocking me to the ground. Kabutops looked back, and ran at the Houndoom trying to kill me.

I looked over at Sakura, now fighting back to get her Pokemon. I threw the Houndoom of of me, into the range of Kabutops. It ripped the Dog's left horn off. I ran up behind the Admin hurting Sakura and kicked him into the wall. "Sakura! Come with me!" I said, holding out my hand. She blushed, and grabbed it. We ran out of the Center. Kabutops was finishing off the Houndoom. It lay on the ground, severely injured. I returned it to its Pokeball as I ran. We heard sirens, and before long, the Police were lined up outside the building.

Once every Magma member had been subdued, a Police officer approached Sakura and I. "We're you involved in this?" She asked.

"What do you mean? As in, we helped defeat them." I said.

"I just need you to come down to the station to answer a few questions."

"But- I didn't- I defeated three of there Pokemon!" She escorted me into her car and got in. "But what about Sakura!?"

"Who?"

"My friend. The one I was with just now..."

"The green haired girl? What about her?"

"Isn't she coming?"

"She doesn't need to."

"She had the _exact _same amount of involvement as me!" She drove in silence.

When we arrived at the station, the woman took me to a room at the back. "Did you injure any Pokemon at the Center?"

"Only Team magma's Pokemon."

"I knew it." She picked a Pokeball from her bag and released it. A Camerupt stood where she released the light. "_Hehehehehe_" she laughed.

"What the-!?" She ripped off her uniform and revealed her crimson Team Magma T-Shirt.

"Kill him." She ordered to her Camerupt. The Orange Camel marched over to me as the Magma woman stepped out of the room. She now had her Police uniform back on. I reached for Kabutops' Pokeball. It wasn't there. She had stolen it.

Now that I knew I had only my bare hands to survive the Camerupt's attacks, I readied myself. It charged at me, and I dodged, causing a loud crash, and a small hole in the wall. I looked back, the Pokemon was stuck. I ran at the door, and grabbed the handle. Locked. I emptied my pockets, trying to find something to pick the lock with. Nothing. I turned around, the Camerupt free, and readying itself for another charge. It ran at me, and I jumped out of the way at the last second. It smashed through the door, causing screams from the hallway outside. The Pokemon ran down the hall. It had now found others to terrorise.

I had to find Kabutops. Team Magma had him, I searched through the empty rooms until I came across one labelled: _Inventory_. I open the door, it is filled with Pokeballs, great balls, ultra balls, any variation of Pokeball you could imagine. I emptied Pikeball after Pokeball, hoping Kabutops to be one of them. The third last one I checked was a success. "Kabutops!" I said, excitedly.

"Celebrate while you can, child." A voice came from the outside of the door. The woman from the interrogation room. "_You will never get out of here alive._" She released another Pokeball. A Heliolisk stood next to her. "Earthquake!" She called. The Lizard stomped its foot and the ground started to shake. Kabutops and I braced ourselves and held onto a cabinet. We pulled too hard and it capsized. The Earthquake subsided and the woman ran.

"Kabutops," I said. "Surf!" Kabutops shot gallons of water from it's mouth, filling the room, and then started riding it towards Heliolisk, knocking it down. The Scaley Lizard lay in the water whilst it was drained out through the cracks in the floorboards. "Finish this with Night Slash!" The brown armoured monster stabbed it's scythe hand through the Heliolisk's arm, spurting blood onto the walls. We ran down the hall the way the woman went. We arrived in the lobby, the administrator passed out on the floor.

The street outside was loud with commotion. There were Magma grunts left and right. "Kabuto!" I called. "Rapid spin!" Kabuto ran to the middle of the fighting, held it's arms out and started spinning. The grunts fell to the ground, their Pokemon trampling them in confusion.

"Alakazam, Psyshock!" A large man emerged from a corner with a large Yellow Pokemon. The Alakazam raised it's spoons and the grunts started screaming in pain. They raised from the ground, squirming and still screaming. "Now, Alakazam," the man slammed his hand onto his wristband, shining in the afternoon sunlight. He raised it to the sky, and Alakazam began to shine uncontrollably. "Mega Evolve!" The yellow menace grew a large white beard, and began to levitate. The light around it exploded and it roared with anticipation. The Pokemon fought off every member of Team Magma, and walked away.

**To be continued... **


	3. Chapter 3

The Fortree Pokemon Centre smelled great. Like a Tropius's fruit. There was still two weeks until my next Skill Competition, so Sakura and I were searching for the man who saved Lavarige town from Team magma the week before. It was 6 am when Sakura woke me up. "Rise and Shine!" She laughed. I got up and ate breakfast at an empty table in the corner of the Centre. I was right, the Centre's cooks made Tropius Stew.

Sakura sat down next to me as I went to stand up. "By the way," she said. "I caught a new Pokemon last night when you were in bed."

"Really?" I said, wiping my face with a napkin. "What is it?" She took out a Pokeball and released the light onto the shining linoleum floor. A sky-blue monster with an oversized mouth emerged from the light.

"A Loudred!" I stood, studying the Pokemon.

"Where'd you get it?"

"Route 119." I frowned.

"How? You usually can't find them there. They're usually around caves on route 116 and places like that." She shrugged and walked into our room.

At 7 am, I left the Centre and explored Fortree City. There wasn't streets as such, but bridges connecting tree house to tree house. At the end of the bridge, a man with grey hair stood. I recognised him, he used to be the Pokemon League's champion. Steven Stone. He glanced over at me, and noticed me staring. "Hey." He said, as if he knew me.

"E- excuse me?" He frowned.

"Sorry, I thought you were someone else."

"Who?"

"A Skill Coordinator that I heard about. Takashi Sugimori I think it was." I breathed a surprised gasp of expression.

"Yeah, that is me!" Steven made a sound as if he was relieved and excited.

"I'm a big fan!" I frowned.

"How do you even _know _about me? Let alone be a 'big fan'"

"I've seen you on TV, and I was at your Competition in Lavarige town."

Steven and I talked for about half an hour, until he got a phone call on his PokeNav. "I can't talk." He said to whoever was calling. He stayed silent, probably listening to the caller. He soon hung up and said he had to go. "If you want to keep talking, I'll be at the Pokemon Centre at 3 PM." He said. I nodded and he left.

I stood there, wondering how Steven Stone, the former _Pokemon league champion_, could know who I _was_, let alone be a fan. I went back to the Pokemon Centre and told Sakura about Steven. "Steven Stone is a fan of yours?!" She exclaimed. "I _love _him! You have _got _to introduce me to him!" I chuckled and returned to my room. "Takashi!" I turned to see a man in crimson clothes with his arm around Sakura's neck.

"Sakura!" I screamed and ran at the man. He let go of Sakura and jumped out of the way. I was already going to fast, and I collided with her. "Oh my god" I said. "Are you Okay?!" She nodded and pointed at the man.

I grabbed my Pokeball from my bag and threw it up to the ceiling. It hit the ground and burst into white light, which soon revealed the brown-plated beast. "Kabutops!" I called. "Hydro Pump!" Kabutops stood still as it's mouth opened and shot a stream of powerful water at the man.

"Is it Team Magma?!" Asked Sakura.

"I'm not sure!" The Hydro Pump hit the man and he fell back, now reaching for his own Pokeball. He managed to release the beast inside. When the light faded a large Red Dinosaur Pokemon stood in the middle of the room, crouching to be able to fit in the Centre.

"Takashi! It's a Groudon!" Screamed Sakura. "Be careful!" She grabbed a Pokeball from her bag and threw it to the ground. Her newly caught Loudred stood before her.

"Loudred;" Called Sakura. "Uproar!" The blue beast began to scream as loud as it could and make noise any way it seemed fit. It stomped it's feet and it's speaker ears started to amplify the scream. Groudon wasn't affected by the Uproar in any way. On the other hand, Kabutops and I couldn't stand it. We fell to the floor and passed out.

I woke up in my room in the Pokemon Centre, Sakura was standing over me with Loudred standing next to her. Groudon was gone, and so was the man. My head was pounding from the Loudred's earlier Uproar. Steven Stone stepped in next to her and couched down. "You Okay?" He asked. I sat up and nodded to him. My ears felt like they were on fire. I looked at the watch on my wrist.

"How long was I out?" I asked.

"Since Yesterday." Replied the former Champion. I rubbed my head.

"That long huh? Damn, I've got a headache."

"Come on; we'll get the doctor to check it out.

I sat onto the stretcher and the Doctor came into the room with me. "So," he said. "what's wrong?"

"I've got this really bad headache." I said, pointing to my head. "After yesterday's 'Uproar'." He smiled at my joke and grabbed a small white bottle from a cabinet on the wall.

"Take these." He handed me the bottle and I read the label:

'_Pain Killers - Specialised Migraine Protection' _

"You're free to leave when you're ready." He smiled.

"Already? That look like ten seconds."

"Headaches are common around here, ever since Team Aqua started up."

"Team Aqua?"

"You know Team Magma? Team Aqua is their Counterpart. Team Magma wants to expand the land of the world. But Team _Aqua_, wants to expand the sea. Team Aqua built a machine that sends out brainwave signals and planted it somewhere in Fortree. The police have been searching for _years_. Still nothing."

The Centre was quiet despite the construction due to the building being attacked by a giant dinosaur. I lay there and thought. I thought about home and I thought about travelling. After the Pokemon Centre attacks I was seriously considering just going home back to Slateport. But I decided to stay, to fulfil my dream, of becoming the worlds number one Pokemon Skill Coordinator!

After a couple of hours Sakura came into my room and sat on the bed. "You doing alright?" She asked. I closed my eyes and put my hands behind my head.

"Not really, no." She sighed.

"Do you need anything?"

"After all that's happened recently - my competition failure, the attacks - I really just want to keep going."

"What do you mean?"

"Just keep exploring. I'll try again next year."

"Takashi. It was _one _loss. You can't keep yourself down for that."

"I'm serious. There. I'm gonna just train for the next year. Then, when the time comes, I'll win every competition in the tournament." I smiled thinking about it. I sat up, laying a hand on Sakura's shoulder. "Thanks for trying to help, but I've got it covered."

I walked down the dirt path of Route 121 and came to a large patch of grass. Kabutops was following behind. I pointed to a nearby Mightyena and Kabutops darted at it. It jumped to the sky and crashed down on top of the dog and it squealed. It stopped breathing and lay there dead. Kabutops stood over the deceased Mightyena and breathed heavily, and I returned him to his Pokeball. Sakura walked up behind me and stared in horror. I walked through the grass, the rest of the Pokemon avoiding my step. She ran back to Fortree, tears developing in her eyes from the sight of me killing the Pokemon.

**1 Year Later...**

I stepped up to the top of the Sky Pillar discovering he green electric dragon sleeping peacefully at the top. I approached it quietly and sat down on a boulder nearby, putting my bag on the floor next to me. The Rayquaza lay there in it's slumber as if it was not disturbed. Just then, the doorway leading downstairs started to rumble, and pebbles fell from the already crumbled ceiling and found there way onto Rayquaza's face. It moved it head, and I fell back, onto the ground with a large bang. The wingless-dragon opened it's eyes immediately and raised it's head.

It stared at me cluelessly and then made a distressed roar then flew recklessly out of the ceiling, collapsing a large portion of the wall connected. I ran to the window, looking downwards to see anything that could have caused the rumbling that led to the dragons awakening. I looked to see a group on men-and-women in white-and-black T-Shirts and blue trousers. I had heard of this uniform, Team Aqua. Also approaching from the Surf of Route 130 was a large group of Team Magma grunts. The green dragon flew into the distance toward Mt. Pyre.

I catch the eye of an Aqua Grunt, a girl with short-cut green hair and shorter than the rest; Sakura Akihiko. "Sakura!" I called, catching her attention fully. "What are you doing with those _freaks_?!" She glared at me.

"Shut Up!" She screamed. "These are my friends!; My _Family_!" I knew if had to get her away from them, as she wouldn't be safe otherwise. The Magma grunts made the coast and were now releasing their Pokemon onto the Aqua Grunts. The Water-Lovers released their own Water Pokemon to counter Magma's ground types.

"Kabutops!" I called. "Stop this!" I released the beast, crashing down on top of an Aqua Grunt's Pelliper, crushing it's bones. Kabutops ripped the wing off of a nearby Magma Talonflame, and crashed it's Scythe arm into a Donphan. Sakura released her Loudred -now evolved, into an Exploud - and ordered it to attack Kabutops. Whilst Kabutops was stabbing it's arm violently into the shell of a Magcargo, Explod caught it off-guard and used it's Stomp attack on it's foot. It fell back, into the water and darted at Exploud, hacking it's Scythe at it.

The two fought until they were both tired. All of the Pokemon were dead or severely injured. Sakura and I had our own fight though. She swung a punch at me, landing her fist in my face. I lashed out at her, my leg ramming into her side, blood dripping from my nose. I then landed my elbow into her chest and she dodged my next kick. She roundhouse kicked my head and jumped back. I ran at her, starting to question why I was fighting her. Just when I was about to strike, she almost fainted, and her legs gave out. I caught her and held her in my arms on my knees. She opened her eyes and softly smiled. I lay my head onto her shoulder and teared up. "I'm so sorry." I said. She rubbed my head and wrapped her arms around me. I stood, placing Sakura firmly on the ground on her feet.

She stared at me, a large blush covering her face. She jumped onto me and wrapped her arms around my body. I put my hands on her back and she squeezed. "So... Are we gonna go together again?" I looked down, disappointed in myself.

"What about Aqua?" I said. "Your Friends, sorry, your Family? What about all that?"

"I never cared about them. I heard they were searching for you because you knew how to take down Magma. I tagged along in any attempt to get close to you again." She looked back in my direction and made a disturbed face. I looked around, and remembered all of the injured and dead Pokemon and Grunts.

"Ugh..." I managed. "We should probably take care of that." An Aqua grunt managed to stand despite the deep gash on his arm.

"Seriously, Akihiko?!" He grunted. "You never cared about us? _Never_?! Not even when we took you in when we found you passed out on Route 120?!" She made a sad but angry face.

"Exploud...!" She said. The grunt backed up, and ignored her, in fear of causing an uproar. "So?"

I looked at the ground, pondering. "I can't think of a reason why not." I looked at her and smiled. She made a relieved face and fell into my arms.

It was then I noticed the deep wound on Sakura's back. "Oh my _God, Sakura_!" I said. No answer. I pulled her up, she had passed out. Kabutops had now almost fully recovered and I put Sakura on my back and jumped on Kabutops's. We rushed to the Sea Town of Pacifidlog. I had heard that there was an Unovan healer there named Henry Walters. I ran from house to house trying to find the man, but each I checked was empty. I finally came across a torch-lit hut, the whole town inside.

They were all hanging out of a window pointing toward Mt. Pyre. There was a perfect view of Rayquaza circling the volcano. I found Henry and showed him Sakura. His eyes widened the minute he saw her. "My Friend is badly-" I began.

"Sakura!" He grabbed her from my back and lay her on a stretcher nearby. His eyes started to tear up. "What is your name?!"

"Takashi, Sir. Takashi Sugimori."

"Thank you Takashi. For saving my daughter."

"Sakura is your daughter?!"

"She is! And I wouldn't have forgiven myself if something worse had happened!" He inspected her back rushingly. He rushed over to a cabinet and pulled out several packets of bottles and bandages. He opened up a bottle, revealing the squirter in the lid, he slid a green liquid into the wound. He then covered the gash with a dozen large bandages.

Henry left Sakura on the stretcher to rest and sat down on an empty stool. "So what's happening around here?" I asked. "Why is everyone in here looking at Mt. Pyre?"

"Are you serious?!" He replied. "Haven't you seen the Rayquaza?! It flew across the sky from Sky Pillar all the way over to Mt. Pyre! Something must have woken 'I'm up!" I hesitated.

"Uhhh... I... May have something to do with it..." The rest of the town overheard me, even over all of the noise and stared at me, glaring.

"What the hell?!" Said a blonde boy about 16 years old.

"That thing almost _destroyed _my house!" Said a dark-skinned bald man.

"Get 'Im!" Said the blonde boy. A few trainers opened their Pokeballs to release a Greninja, a Politoed and a Metagross. I released Kabutops from his Pokeball and let him ravage the three opponents.

"Don't kill them, Kabutops." I said calmly. The brown beast darted from side to side of the room dodging ranged attacks from the three Pokemon. It then dug a Scythe into the Greninja and pulled outwards, developing a large wound on it's torso. It then drove it's arm into the Politoed's head, falling back onto Metagross. Greninja shook off the pain and ran at Kabutops, slamming his bent leg into it's Schthe, knocking it into the wall of the room. I turned to see Sakura waking up. I ran over to her, making sure she didn't see Kabutops do anything extreme. It recovered immediately and hacked it's arm into the Metagross's X plate. It reflected the hit, but Kabutops then slammed its hand through its eye socket, penetrating the metal on the other side. The blue metal beast dropped to the ground. "Kabutops! I said _don't _kill them!" It looked over to me and Politoed shot a powerful blast of water at it. It hit Kabutops directly, sending it slamming into Sakura and I, and sending us out the door, into the water.

I grabbed Sakura in a panic, she was now unconscious again. She could drown. I made sure her head was above the water at all times. I struggled to grab onto the logs of the town and pull myself up but the current was too strong, and Sakura was weighing me down. Kabutops dived under the water and boosted us up onto the land. Henry came outside and helped Kabutops out of the water while I got Sakura inside. I lay her back down where the stretcher once was and Kabutops stepped beside me.

"Kabutops," I said. "_destroy _them." The brown beast held out it's Scythe arms and ran towards the Politoed. It executed a powerful X-Scissor attack, sending the green frog flying. It crashed hard into Greninja, losing it's concentration it was building up. It's Scythe made a 180° arc through the air and stabbed straight through the Politoed's head, sending blood everywhere. Greninja stuggled it's way to it's feet and extended it's tongue, wrapping around Kabutops' left arm. It dug it's free arm into the tongue and Greninja screeched in pain. It stumbled backward onto it's back. Kabutops raised it's Scythe and cut straight into. Greninja's torso.

The room went silent. The three dead Pokemon draped in the arms of their trainers. Everyone began to approach me - Mob style - and Henry stood in the middle. When he stepped in the crowd stopped and started shouting. "Calm down, _Calm Down!_" He ordered. "This boy is _not _the enemy!"

"He killed my Greninja!" Said the trainer with the blue ninja-frog lying next to him.

"And he told his Kabutops _not _to kill it!"

"It still did..." I looked down in serious regret. Sakura started to open her eyes. She sat up.

"What's happening?" She said, and spotted the three dead Pokemon. "Oh my God!" I put my hand on her head.

The people of Pacifidlog put me on a raft and I drifted to the west toward Slateport. Sakura ran down the log path to catch up and jumped onto the raft. "Sakura!" I said. "What the hell are you doing?!"

"Sakura!" Screamed Henry running down the path where Sakura did.

"I'm not staying _there_!" She said. "Practically everyone hates me there. That's the main reason I left!"

"We'll looks like we're gonna hit Slateport, by the direction we're going."

"Didn't you say you live there?"

"I did."

"Will your family be there?"

"They should be."

"Cool! You just met my family, now I'll meet yours!"

After about twenty minutes of silence on the raft, we landed on the shores of Slateport City. I hopped off onto the white hand and held out my hand to help Sakura off. She grabbed my hand and pulled to propel herself upwards. We made our way to the house beside the Boat House. I knocked on the door and a 13 year old girl answered the door. "Takashi!" She exclaimed and hugged me.

"Hey sis'!" I said and she noticed Sakura.

"Who's this?"

"Oh, sorry!" Said Sakura. "I'm Sakura Akihiko! I'm a friend of your brother!"

"I'm Aki!" She held her hand out to Sakura signalling a shake. Sakura shook.

We stepped inside and each took a seat at the kitchen table. "Where's Mum?" I asked.

"She's in Mauville for a business trip." Aki answered.

"She got a job?"

"Yeah, at the Boat house."

"Next door, convenient."

"Anyway, so why are you back?"

"I was at Sky Pillar, and I-"

"Oh my God."

"What?"

"The Rayquaza at Mt. Pyre... You woke it up didn't you?"

"Uhh... It was also partially Team Aqua and Team Magma's faults!"

"Hey!" Said Sakura. "How the hell did we do anything?!" Aki stood from her seat.

"She's a Magma Agent?!"

"I _used to be _an _Aqua _Agent." Aki sat.

"Anyway," I said. "How about Dad?"

"He's at the Market."

There was a noise of keys rattling at the door. A man with thin black hair wearing a grey vest walked through the door. He walked into the kitchen and didn't notice I was there. He put down the groceries and his eyes met mine. "Takashi!" He exclaimed. "You're back!"

"Hey Dad!" I stood and held out my hand to shake. He grabbed me and pulled me into a hug.

"When'd you get back?" I opened my mouth to speak when a load roar came from Mt. Pyre and something came crashing through the window.

A small green Pokemon lay there in the glass. I knelt next to it and my eyes widened. "A Celebi!"

"The Pokemon that lives in Johto?!" Asked Aki.

"Why is it here?" Wondered Sakura. Dad looked at Sakura in wonder.

"Who's this?" He asked.

"Sakura." I said. I reached for Celebi and it shone a bright blue light. My sight was enveloped in white light and I fell asleep.

**To be Continued**


End file.
